Say What?

I met with my doctor last week to discuss the latest results from my lab work. He was very pleased with where I'm at and said he sees no need for me to be on a statin to control cholesterol — something he was considering in my last checkup. He said that should I ever slow down and lead a more sedentary life, then maybe his advice to me will change. I had a spring in my step as I left his office. I've been saying for the past few years that I don't handle the hotter days of summer all that well anymore. I'm happy to say that I was wrong. I don't care for the relentless heat we've been experiencing this summer but I've been riding and golfing in it quite a lot this year and it's really not hindered me much at all. Still, I'm becoming more of a cool/cold weather person the older I get. My sweet spot is 65ºf (18ºc) or cooler. And it looks like we may be leaving the extreme heat behind for the season (ever the optimist I am!) before long. The #1 item on m...

I woke up yesterday morning to the sound of thunder. My Weather Bug app's radar depiction screen lit up with a large area of precipitation working its way through southern Minnesota. I don't think I've ever been happier to see rain. We're so overdue. And maybe the rains will wash the smoke out of the air (at least for a while). The wildfires out west have been feeding a steady stream of smoke across the country, even at the lower levels of the atmosphere. I was mowing the lawn last week and could see smoke hanging in the air just by looking across the street. I can't begin to imagine what it must be like living much closer to the source of the fire.  My primary care doctor is the same doctor who guided me through my last round of blood clots in January 2015. My previous primary care physician had retired a few months earlier so I was in need of someone new and Dr. Foley was happy to fill that role for me. He's very intent on making sure I've got the healt...

I can't recall a more oppressively hot and humid summer in my nearly 64 years than what we've been experiencing this summer. But there's hope in sight! We'll only be in the 80ºs by Thursday when we ditch these 90º+ days we've been contending with. Our air conditioner never feels better than when I come home from being out on a ride. I'm also learning to love cool (bordering on cold) showers!  When I had our home built in 1992, my brother installed a state-of-the-art security system that still serves us well today. I don't actually worry all that much about people breaking into our home but we've added another layer of security in the form of wireless Eufy security cameras that are set up to monitor all of the entrances to our home. With the help of a neighbor who works for a tech company, we were able to get them at a very reasonable price. They're also a source of good fun for our neighbors to prank us while we're away, such as this past weeke...

I was golfing with Steve last Thursday when I got a text from Keith: "Deborah passed away last night". I was shocked. Deborah is our cousin and was only in her early 60s. I knew her health wasn't good and that she had been admitted to the hospital but I had no idea she was gravely ill. I last spoke with her this past winter when I gave her a call to chat. I had no idea it would be our last conversation. Deborah was one of just a few people who were invited to attend Tammy's and my wedding 22 years ago at our home. She sang a beautiful song she'd written for us. She was a talented musician with perfect pitch and an angelic voice. She was also a very giving and forgiving person who looked for the best in others. My heart especially goes out to her husband Mark and her brother Bern. She will be missed.  Forty years ago today, relatives on my mother's side of our family held our largest family reunion in Michigan's Upper Peninsula — an area of the country wher...

Six months ago today, a group of Trump's supporters descended on our nation's Capitol in an attempt to halt the certification of Biden's decisive Electoral College win in our nation's presidential election. It was a disturbing act of loyalty to the most corrupt man to ever occupy the office of the presidency. It's now seven months after the election and Trump has yet to concede defeat to Joe Biden.  It would be one thing if it was merely a one-off collection of misfits who plotted this ill-fated attempt to overthrow our government but it's not. It's so much more than that and I have no doubt that it goes to the very top — to Trump himself. The most disturbing aspect of the entire travesty is that Trump was reported to have been gleeful as he watched the events unfold, refusing to send in reinforcements to stop it. It would be hours before they arrived and not because of any help from Trump. That's criminal but so is pretty much everything else with him....

It's been weeks since I've noticed the strong and oftentimes relentless scent of smoke in my nose that I've mentioned here previously. My lungs appear to be mostly back to normal as well without the spontaneous cough from deep in my chest that I'd been experiencing. I can't say with certainty if my symptoms were Covid related but I suspect they were. Yesterday marks four weeks since crashing my bike and injuring my ribs. I'm feeling mostly healed from that as well. I took one of my golf clubs out of its bag last night and gave a few 80% swings out in our yard. I think I'm ready to at least hit the range for a few sessions before easing my way out onto the links again.  I'm not totally disappointed in being unable to golf this past month because I've used my spare time to ride more than I otherwise would have — and I needed that. My form is beginning to come around but I still have some work to do. Most of my riding lately has been on my road bike; a ...

Twenty years ago this afternoon, I had an encounter with a rambunctious loose pup while riding my bike north of Northfield. It was an encounter that would land me not only in the emergency room of the Northfield hospital but it would also land me on the set of the Judge Judy show a few months later. For those who haven't already seen the video, I'll post it below. Had it not been for my then-10-year-old daughter Rachel, I never would've agreed to stand in front of Judge Judy but there was no way I could say no to Rachel's request. She even offered all of her stuffed animals for me to practice speaking in front of in preparation for the show with a viewership of some 10,000,000 people. How sweet was that!? Like most everyone else, I was familiar with the show having watched it numerous times but never did I ever imagine appearing on it. I sometimes wondered how they found out about our pending small claims court case and have since learned that the program has a staff of...